Old Donation School

Old Donation School (ODS) is a 12 acre 225,000 sf special place where 1400+ people spend 7 to 12 hours every weekday of the school year. The design is a blend of countless ideas from students, staff and neighbors of what they think ODS should be, considering it will be their home. Those ideas included: Reflective of the learning, every square inch for learning, colorful, connecting to outside, a good neighbor, appreciative of all the water and light that falls on the site, energetic and energy efficient. Virginia Beach City Public Schools has chosen the LEED Certification process as one of the ways it drives and documents success in moving towards a sustainable community. With this approach, the LEED rating system inspires the project stakeholders to embrace the ODS features such as all stormwater infiltrated on site, flushing toilets with only rainwater, daylighting, constant connection to outside thru views, use of natural materials, tight envelope and ultra-efficient HVAC systems.